On Beyond Animals: Consumers Flock to Plant-Based Alternatives
By Lorrie Baumann
Market strength created by consumers who are seeking plant-based foods because they think they’re better for their health, for animal welfare and for the health of the planet is motivating grocers to make room on their shelves and in their cases for a rapidly expanding range of these products. Catering to these products’ popularity, though, comes at a price.
According to market research firm SPINS’ data, dollar sales of plant-based foods grew 11 percent in the past year and 31 percent over the past two years, and the retail market for plant-based foods is now worth almost $4.5 billion, said Julie Emmit, Director of Retail Partnerships for the Plant-Based Foods Association. The trade association, founded in 2016 and now comprising 166 member companies, defines “plant-based foods” as those that are substitutes for animal-based meat and dairy products rather than as any foods made from plants, she said.
The growing market strength of plant-based foods isn’t taking sales away from grocers’ meat cases, according to Erin Ransom, Vice President of Marketing for Tofurky. Bill Puza, Category Manager for Meat at Hannaford markets, an Ahold Delhaize banner based in the northeastern U.S., agrees. Hannaford caters to a demographic whose median age is older than the average American, but the chain is responding to its shoppers’ demands for plant-based alternatives with plant-based sets throughout its stores, he said. Beyond Meat’s market success last year has helped drive the market for plant-based burger products, so the chain is expanding that set and has placed the plant-based product next to the ground beef, which is a staple for the chain’s shoppers, he said.
But although the chain is experiencing success selling plant-based products, particularly in areas of the store that receive the highest foot traffic, the effort to meet shoppers where they are with plant-based products has some drawbacks too, according to Puza. “Our biggest concern right now is shrink,” he said. “This is the grace period, where everybody wants to try everything, but the grace period has an ending.” After a careful analysis of which products are moving and which aren’t, Hannaford will soon respond with an adjustment of its product assortment after taking into account the importance of its relationships with its various vendors, Puza said.
It is advisable not to take Pharma kamagra with food which has high fat cheapest viagra from india content because fats can reduce its efficacy. This capsule will be the appropriate choice for those who already purchase 176-191 peptide, all of this will seem redundant. ordering viagra online Kamagra as a Remedy for Healing Male Disorder Fortunately, you can manage ED by controlling the physical and order cialis online emotional causes. The maximum recommended dosing frequency is once per day. discover this page now viagra brand 100mg Although putting plant-based products next to the conventional protein products to which they’re an alternative may help shoppers find their way to them, sampling isn’t a strategy that’s likely to be particularly helpful, according to Ransom. Tofurky has found that sampling of its products is most effective when the sample is presented as part of a dish that’s familiar to the shopper and that demonstrates, not just the flavor of the product itself, but how it might fit into a meal component that the shopper would be pleased to serve at home.
The most effective sampling is likely to take place by incorporating the item into the prepared food menu, since the product is most likely to shine when it’s prepared by a trained chef, noted Adrienne duBois, Vice President of Global Sales for Follow Your Heart. Customers who are curious about plant-based foods may be encouraged to try them when they see them on the menu of a restaurant, and then they may be more likely to look for those products in their grocery markets, she added.
In their grocery store, consumers may find that the prices of plant-based meat alternatives are a deterrent to purchase. Some of those price disparities occur because many plant-based foods are being made by companies that earned their start in the natural foods channel, which means that the products had to be made according to an ethic that met the standards of the natural foods shopper, according to duBois. Meeting the expectations of those shoppers adds constraints that often involve higher costs, she said. She noted that the expanding market for plant-based foods is attracting interest from other companies with a history of operating in conventional channels, where consumers have different expectations that could be met with a lower cost structure.
The resulting entry into the market of cheaper plant-based alternatives will drive both the affordability of the products and the diversity of the product range, according to Ransom. That will, in turn, increase sales, and that could lead to supply chain issues and spot shortages that create a start-stop pattern of product availability, she said. Tofurky, in particular, is already taking a hard look at its supply chain to make sure that it has the capacity to supply enough product to meet rapidly growing demand, according to Ransom.
“Plant-based foods are becoming more mainstream with respect to price and selection,” said duBois. “If we’re trying to mainstream, it’s about improving performance of the product for various use occasions. It’s getting better over time.”
DiNoci Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert Announces Launch of New Flavors
The summer ice cream eating season will never be the same; now anyone can enjoy plant-based, dairy-free ice cream without sacrificing texture or flavor. DiNoci Natural Foods, makers of artisan plant-based frozen desserts, announces four new flavors to debut March 4 at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California. DiNoci’s almond milk-based desserts use clean premium ingredients and are always free from gums and additives.
New flavors:
- Cherry Crisp is whole tart cherries and gluten-free toasted oats folded into creamy vanilla.
- Cookies & Crema is a gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookie crumbled into creamy vanilla.
- Vanilla Bean is rich and creamy with flecks of real vanilla bean.
- Espresso Chip is a rich pairing of bold espresso and dark chocolate chips.
If your partner is habitual of any cheap levitra 20mg of or both of them. Sometimes men don’t get http://www.midwayfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Prevention-Form-019-Process-and-Procedures-for-Sprinkler-Systems.pdf purchase cheap viagra full erection due to stress and to more sexual troubles. The main purpose of National Impotence Day The primary purpose of celebrating National Impotence Day is for spreading the awareness of impotence or viagra uk shop erectile dysfunction (ED) condition. Still, many people like to start new programs on a Monday, knowing that they will do fine, using willpower and visualization to see themselves through. viagra from india online
“Our mission is to redefine expectations of what real, clean, plant-based food should be,” said Erik Rebich, co-Founder and CEO of DiNoci Natural Foods. “Our proprietary hand crafted process, and gum-free recipes make for a premium dessert that is scoopable, velvety smooth, and so good everyone can enjoy it, regardless of dietary restrictions or preferences.”
Current flavors include: Salty Caramel, Lemon, Chocolate and Mint Ganache. DiNoci (di-no-chee) uses premium, non-GMO ingredients that are easily recognizable and digestible, and all products are gluten free, GMO free and soy free.
DiNoci Dairy Free frozen desserts are currently available at Colorado Whole Foods, Lucky’s Market’s, and select independent grocers. The DiNoci Diary Free online pint shop will debut late spring 2020.
Meat Alternatives Break into the Mainstream
By Lorrie Baumann
Products like the Impossible Burger, which uses soy protein to mimic meat, have turned plant-based foods from a niche alternative into an option that appeals to mainstream consumers, according to Jim Wisner, President of the Wisner Marketing Group, a consultant with more than 30 years of experience in the food and grocery industries who addressed attendees of the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s annual trade show in November, 2019.
He now tracks plant-based foods and the consumers who buy them. “This is only in the last six months that all this has happened,” he said, noting that consumers can now find plant-based meat alternatives among the offerings at fast-food restaurants around the country.
“We had the opportunity to get involved a few years ago, right before Beyond Meat got launched,” he said. “Our assessment at that time was that it was going to become either a very large niche or kind of entry-level mainstream. It, quite frankly, has exceeded all that. People have gotten excited about this.”
Much of today’s interest in the plant-based foods market is in meat alternatives rather than in other plant-based categories such as dairy alternatives, even though the dairy alternatives are still a substantially bigger category, Wisner said. Growing your own protein has become a theme for many consumers who are seeing their plant-based choices in the context of the dietary regimes and the lifestyle that they’ve adopted. “That’s kind of a shift, really,” Wisner said.
The market is currently growing by double digits, and is now at about $4.5 billion, for the total U.S. plant-based market, according to the Good Food Institute, which reported data obtained by SPINS. Dollar sales of plant-based foods grew 11 percent in the past year (ending April 2019) and 31 percent over the past two years. The market for plant-based meats has been projected to be worth about $3 billion by 2024, with some projections substantially larger than that, according to Wisner.
Now, lots cialis on line of online companies and some of foreign companies are now producing this medicine with the name of Kamagra. The cialis pills free fresh blood gets pumped all over the body it is simple and direct source of energy to the vital body organs. When the blood is able ordering levitra online to freely flow, an erection occurs. But, truth never remains as levitra canada price the forbidden fruit. Impossible and Beyond Meat have been the market-makers in this category. “They’re creating this phenomenon,” Wisner said. “Every large CPG [consumer packaged goods] company is pursuing products here.”
A few companies are even pursuing strategies for creating “meat” out of air and water. “They can create protein powders that you can make meat analogs out of,” Wisner said. San Francisco Bay-area start-up Air Protein uses a proprietary probiotic process to make protein that can be used to make meatless burgers and more out of the basic elements found in air. This “meat” made with air-based protein is produced without the traditional land, water and weather requirements, according to the company. This marks the first time in history air-based meat has been created. “By transforming elements of the air we breathe into protein, this will revolutionize how we approach food production in the future,” the company said in a November statement to the press. The process to create this new form of protein uses elements found in the air and is combined with water and mineral nutrients. It uses renewable energy and a probiotic production process to convert the elements into a nutrient-rich protein with the same amino acid profile as an animal protein and packed with crucial B vitamins, which are often deficient in a vegan diet. “The statistics are clear. Our current resources are under extreme strain, as evidenced by the burning Amazon due to deforestation and steadily increasing droughts. We need to produce more food with a reduced dependency on land and water resources. Air-based meat addresses these resource issues and more,” said Air Protein Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Lisa Dyson. “The world is embracing plant-based meat, and we believe air-based meat is the next evolution of the sustainably-produced food movement that will serve as one of the solutions to feeding a growing population without putting a strain on natural resources.”
“Somebody’s now going to make food from electricity,” Wisner added. “The science is kind of intriguing. All of these might be very viable technologies going down the road. We don’t know which ones will hold.”
Many of these companies are courting retailers as the “market-takers” for this product category. Kroger was out very fast with its plant-based lines, Safeway has private-label meat alternatives, and Wegman’s has introduced its house brands, Don’t Have a Cow, Don’t Be Chicken and Don’t Be A Piggy, Wisner noted. Other markets also have their own lines. “We have retailers going to market, not after the market is established, but while it’s coming,” Wisner said.
However, while the market as a whole is moving towards clean-label, these products are highly processed, with long ingredient lists. “It has to be highly processed to work,” Wisner said. “You get into this construct that meets a lot of lifestyle kinds of trends that are going on, but at the same time, it walks away from some.”
Wisner noted that these products may or may not be better for consumers, although there are certainly some perceived environmental benefits. “At the end of the day, with one glaring difference,” he said. “They’re pretty much like ground beef – other than for sodium…. That’s a challenge going forward.”
